Each county has their own process when issuing the Certificate of Occupancy (CO) also called Residential Use Permit (RUP) or Occupancy Permit (OP) depending on the locale. Some are fairly painless (Fairfax) while others are more challenging (ahem, Arlington). The important thing is to communicate with the county early about the process so you’re not sitting with a completed house but unable to move in because of a process issue.

At GFS, we’re going to keep on working out here to try and get this thing done. It’s a 50 degree February day, and I hear we’re actually getting landscaping done and the sod down today!

In the meanwhile, we’re buttoning up things inside the house. It won’t be long now.

About the author

NDI President Jennifer Landers writes a weekly blog about building custom homes in northern Virginia. She lives in Falls Church with her husband and two boys. In her free time, she enjoys running (when she's done), cooking (eating) and cheering (yelling at) the Virginia Tech Hokies.